Don't look now, but the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners will meet head-to-head on the diamond for an intense AL West divisional rivalry on this Tuesday. It is time to check out our MLB odds series where our Athletics-Mariners prediction and pick will be made.
Clearly, things have gone from bad to worse for the Oakland Athletics organization. In what once was a proud and historically successful franchise that has seen plenty of highs over the years, the Athletics seem to be on their way out of town in an attempt for greener pastures in the Sin City of Las Vegas. To make matters worse, the Athletics possess the worst record in all of baseball by a considerable margin with a 10-39 record. Still, Oakland will attempt to snap a five-game losing streak by sending out righty Luis Medina who is 0-2 with a 6.88 ERA.
At first glance, it has been the Seattle Mariners that have seemingly stumbled out of the opening gate themselves. Of course, it was the Mariners that took the baseball world by storm with a postseason-clinching berth of a campaign for the first time since 2001. However, Seattle has lacked continuity at times this year, and their focus in the coming games will be to be more consistent in all areas of the game to catapult themselves back into the playoff conversation. On the mound in this one for the Mariners will be the savvy veteran in Marcos Gonzales. In eight regular season starts, Gonzales is 3-1 with a 6.10 ERA.
Here are the Athletics-Mariners MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Athletics-Mariners Odds
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-108)
Seattle Mariners: -1.5 (-111)
Over: 8.5 (-124)
Under: 8.5 (+102)
How To Watch Athletics vs. Mariners
TV: NBC Sports California/ROOT Sports Northwest
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 9:38 ET/7:38 PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread
While it hasn't happened a whole lot, there are more than a few reasons that the A's could end up covering the spread out in Seattle. To begin, it will prove to be extremely important that outfielder Seth Brown is set to suit up for the first time this season after missing out on the action due to injury. After it was the A's that were blanked by Mariners ace Luis Castillo on Monday, the hope for Oakland is that Brown can help out the offense in a hefty way. A year ago, Brown led the club with 25 home runs and 73 RBI's. On Monday, Brown got his season off to a nice start by going 2-4 while driving in a run. Clearly, Brown could end up having some clutch moments at the plate if the A's are going to take care of business.
Above all else, Oakland's ability to cover the spread will be all for not if they are unable to keep Seattle off the scoreboard. Believe it or not, it was at least encouraging that starter Luis Medina matched a career-high with six strikeouts and lessened the damage with only a pair of walks in his last start on the mound. Alas, the A's best hope is that Medina can continue to make positive steps in the right direction by picking up right where he left off in his no-decision outing versus the D-Backs.
Why The Mariners Could Cover The Spread
Although the Mariners enter this matchup has overwhelming favorites to cover the spread and down a bad Athletics squad, by no means can they take this Tuesday night showdown for granted.
In order for Seattle to do what they're expected to do and not allowing a massive letdown, another superb at outing at the plate will need to be in store. Believe it or not, but the offensive production could all begin with Jarred Kelenic who recently just mashed home runs on three consecutive days at Wrigley Field. Indeed, it was Kelenic who picked up right where he left off with a 455-foot moonshot in the first inning which more than sparked the Mariners to the blowout 11-2 victory over the Athletics. If there is one name within this Seattle lineup that can get hot in a hurry, then look no further than Jarred Kelenic to put us in the Fourth of July mood early with some fireworks throughout this one.
Even more importantly, can starting pitcher Marcos Gonzales follow up Luis Castillo's masterful Monday performance? When taking a closer look at the raw numbers, Gonzales has a 10-4 record with a 3.78 ERA in 19 career games against the A's. Certainly, if Gonzales can pitch like he usually does versus Oakland, then Seattle will end up being in pretty good shape.
Final Athletics-Mariners Prediction & Pick
At this point in time, it just doesn't make any sense to side with a very bad A's team. Hammer the Mariners to cover the spread and earn yourself a few extra dollars.
Final Athletics-Mariners Prediction & Pick: Mariners -1.5 (-111)
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